"I think I'll write about the first time she acknowledged my existence when she was 30."

I wonder if the rest of the family feels similar? Could be enligtening, at least for her mother, if people share only crappy memories - or if anyone is totally honest and says outright they don't like this person.

I don't object to 40 year olds getting gifts on their birthday. This one strikes me as odd for a fortieth birthday, though. Seems like something for an anniversary or a memorial, maybe an eightieth birthday if you really want to use it for a birthday._________________::lesser crisis mode::

i like the idea of sharing a memory of someone for their birthday, and all the zero ones tend to get extra emphasis. past a certain age, gift-giving gets hard, unless it is someone you are spending a lot of time with and know well. if you come from a big family, it can get pretty expensive, as well. when you are a little kid, gifts are about what you want; as you get older, they become more about just knowing someone is thinking about you, and cares about you.

i guess that, to me, is the reason to do nothing, rather than recount a bad memory (even if that is all you have). this sounds like a person who needs to really examine who and what she is - but is a birthday party the best context for it? maybe it is - i really don't know. part of it depends on whether she's really capable of making changes...and obviously, that's not something i know about her._________________aka: neverscared!
a flux of vibrant matter

Too funny - yours is broken for me, too. =\_________________The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference.
- Charles Darwin

I see them both!_________________"Worse comes to worst, my people come first, but my tribe lives on every country on earth. Iíll do anything to protect them from hurt, the human race is what I serve." - Baba Brinkman

I've apparently moved to stripeypants' universe. I can see mine again, but Arc's is still a little X._________________The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference.
- Charles Darwin

I can see the mouse . . . ._________________The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference.
- Charles Darwin

i can see me! but i am given to understand that it might just be because my computer remembers what i look like.

when my av disappeared for me a couple of months ago, it turned out that the link to the image had mysteriously disappeared from my profile. now i'm afraid to look to see if it is still there...._________________aka: neverscared!
a flux of vibrant matter

I came across an episode of Halloween Haunt about Harry Houdini. In it, they mentioned he both died on Halloween, and also invented a system to contact his wife with after death - and therefore a lot of people hold sťances to try and reach Houdini.

It sounds like a possibly fun Halloween project, and I do have a big round table to use for it. I don't know if I want to try any of the classic cheesy effects, and I think flickering lights are right out for reasons._________________::lesser crisis mode::